The Real Story Behind Brand Storytelling (Part 1: HEARTFELT Impacts)

“…For years, she fashioned herself as a fast tracking, glamorous woman from Los Angeles. After 25 years of city life, the stage was set for a cosmopolitan lawyer to hob-knob in the country club settings of corporate America…”

WAIT. I FORGOT SOMETHING.

Do you believe the hype surrounding brand storytelling? It is highlighted in dozens of 2014 social media predictions as the key to standing out in a noisy world of content. The following first of a three part series explains why brand storytelling can build an emotional connection with your content audiences.

BACK TO THE STORY

“…One day when paying a visit to her childhood hometown in the American Midwest, Marlboro Man captured her glance. Soon after, she found herself in the arms of a cowboy who would be the father of her four children. Her black heels turned to tractor wheels as she rode into the sunset with a slow-talking, easy-going cattle rancher.”

Ladd Drummond & Lee Drummond, The Pioneer Woman

“Once Upon a Time” Content Marketing Explosion

This prairie-tale romance led to Ree Drummond’s story as The Pioneer Woman, an award-winning American blogger and a No. 1 New York bestselling author. Now the wife of cowboy, Ladd Drummond, her story attracted 1.4 million Facebook Likes and a blog reaching over 30 million page views a month while earning millions of dollars annually from display advertising.

What fascinates Ree’s readers are her stories of ranch life and home schooling that feature real country-life characters. Her home page persona essentially implies that those dreaming of being lassoed by a cowboy should follow her story of city girl turned country gal.

Ree Drummond’s Persona Epitomizes the Sensibilities of Country Living

Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman, represents a style of storytelling where alter egos long for the freedom to escape their hectic lifestyle roots into a more sensible and care free world. Much like the “la dolce vita” persona of Vespa owners or the rebellious demeanor of Harley Hogs, she appeals to an audience longing to let loose of their complex and regimental lifestyles.

But what about B2B content? Is there really any place for storytelling? Consider the way hundreds of business schools and thousands of operations managers learned about the Theory of Constraints. This popular management philosophy was introduced by storyteller, Eliyahu Goldratt in his 1984 book titled “The Goal.”

Eliyahu Goldratt’s “The Goal” Used a Story to Sell 3+ Million Copies

Can you ever imagine a college textbook that you could not put down?

Eli’s sale of over 3 million copies and a movie is testimony to the power of story when solving production problems. Written as a suspenseful piece of fiction, Eli hooks his reader into an episodic work of adventure juxtaposed with his marital life. The main character, Alex, has a mentor, Jonah, who helps him solve the company problems and his marital challenges.

What’s Behind the Brand Storytelling Hype?

Hardly a social media prediction went by this past year that did not mention brand storytelling as among the top trends to watch in 2014. Brands are jumping on this bandwagon as a way to connect with their audiences on an emotional level – and for good reason. We are being bombarded with so much content that many brands see the emotional route as perhaps the only way to standout.

Building an Emotional Connection

So why storytelling? Let’s start with the concepts most often used to create an emotional connection with our content. For content toprovoke an emotional response, it helps to have entertaining value. Our own study of the top 15 ways to creating entertaining content found commercials involving astonishment, heartfelt moments, sentimental humor, put-downs and performing arts to score extremely well on engagement.

Six of Fifteen Entertaining Concepts Tap Into Emotions

Besides entertainment, humanizingand personalizing content also creates an emotional attachment as audiences credit our empathy as being oriented to their personal needs. Having an authentic voice, in a context that involves our audiences, is a great start towards connecting at an emotional level.

And by creating content in a visual format, audiences can quickly see a connection to our brand’s message hopefully in the context of their own experiences. In essence, we are telling rather than selling so that audiences grasp ideas over product pitches.

But storytelling not only combines personalization, involvement and entertainment, it provides an opportunity for brands to inspire audiences. By offering a persuasive narrative, equipped with a hero, a conflict and eventual resolution of the conflict, audiences can become part of the storyline.

Stories inspire audiences to live vicariously through your brand’s story

If done right, the story could hook audiences into an anticipation for upcoming episodes while creating a growing connection with the stories protagonist. Over time, the brand is seen as providing something meaningful to the audiences’ own challenges.

And this can be done without pitching product features or directing your audience on what to do. It’s done by allowing the audience to live vicariously through your brand’s story; which, according to Dave Kerpan, is the secret to making a brand likeable.

Without a compelling narrative to capture your brand’s vision and personality, personalized messaging and entertainment merely offer moments of attention and engagement. To be remembered, however, audiences need repeated doses of emotional lift often brought about from ongoing episodes and a story-line that resonates with their own life challenges.

Since then, we have seen numerous releases of the 2-5 minute brand story captured in animated storylines and mini-films, many of which garnered millions of views. This longer-form release captures the true essence of storytelling. Some great examples include:

Common to this long-form storyline is a musical journey into the brand’s roots often leading to obstacles, a perseverance to overcome and a moral to the story (e.g., Chipotle’s call to cultivate a better world).

Brand Stories Adoption will Accelerate

But the growing trend towards brand stories does not just include mini-series productions and slice-of-life narratives recast on YouTube. The concept of using storytelling is now be applied to web design, podcasts, imageryand even data.

Brand stories offer an option to distinguish yourself from the noise. By provoking feelings and emotions, stories stand a greater chance of reaching prospects at the awareness stage of their buying cycle. And by allowing audience’s to easily visualize a brand’s vision, stories have a better shot at conveying meaning to an audience’s own pain points. Add to that the more lasting impact that visual storytelling has than factual-based messages; and you can see why stories resonate more in an age of information overload.

Information Overload Demanding Stories with Heartfelt Connections

Brands are also recognizing in a bigger way how their unique personality can distinguish their content from that of their competition. Ample evidence shows that audiences seek connection with an authentic brand voice whose values resonate with their own. This emotional connection overrides even the most powerful of value propositions especially at a time where trust in messages is at an all-time low.

Finally, brands are seeing how they can strike an emotional chord with their target personas from the vast amount of big data characterizing their audiences. Today’s marketer has sufficient profile and behavioral data to craft a brand story that truly resonates with their followers.

So be prepared for the incessant “Once Upon a Time” approaches to content strategies as brands seek to distinguish themselves with a lasting emotionally connection. Boardroom meetings may even occur around a campfire previewing their latest “Tale of Two Budgets.”

So do you buy into this trend towards storytelling as a mainstream content strategy? Or do you think it will only create a new wave of content saturation?

Storytelling one of the best inventions yet. Why? Because we were brought up with storytelling. We associate storytelling with a good feeling, whether the story is interesting or not, whether it captures our heart or not you will still listen to a story. When you were a little kid, you probably begged your mom or dad for a story whether it came from a book or their personal stories. You connected with them, with each story they told. In this case is the same thing you are connecting with the brand with each story you are getting closer and closer to them. Storytelling is the best way of getting information to someone because you are sharing. Multilevel companies know that and that’s why most multilevel companies are doing so well. They have their own customers selling their products by sharing their experiences about the brand. Genus!!!! Customers try it out and tell you everything about the product, of course with a little bit of storytelling. It works, it sells and it is sticking, 40% of consumers trust traditional advertising but 97% trust a friend’s recommendation. They are becoming you’re a friend-of-mine. I think storytelling is a great way to attract customers because it connects with them in a deeper level. I see a lot of potential in story telling but I also see some possible down falls if not done correctly. What if these stories told portrayed false advertising? Example: Once upon a time there was a great company named West Jet they made miracles come true, but one day a customer with a really bad situation had to travel to another state. His name was Mark. Mark did not have all the money to travel and asked West Jet to please help him out; he had seen what West Jet had done for all those people with the gifts in a commercial. West Jet refused and did not help this poor man that was going through a family tragedy. Mark did not understand how a company that pride them selves for being helpful and understand the customer’s needs and making miracles come true could not help him out on a fight that was half empty. End of story. He made a video of West jet and the video went viral, something like that. It is hard to give your brand a certain name and not honor what you stand for, so storytelling can be ruff. In the other hand, I can’t stop watching the Budweiser commercials they have capture my heart. I love them I don’t drink beer but if I did I would drink Bud. The commercials make me cry each time and everywhere I see a Budweiser I smile. This is why:

I definitely buy into Brand Storytelling as a form of marketing. Marketers understand that today’s consumer is looking for more than an one dimensional sales ad in order to attract them to a brand. Today’s consumer looks to connect with a brand based on what the brand stands for and there is no better way to provide that connection than to present the story. By understanding where the brand originated and the struggles which it may have undertook due to history, personal experiences, etc, consumers can connect with the brand by being able to relate it to something that may have happened in their life or the history of their family. Therefore, ultimately not only creating a new customer, but a promoting brand loyalty as well.

Although I believe in brand storytelling, I feel that it will eventually lead to the new wave of content saturation. However, I feel that it may take longer to get to that point than some other forms simply because developing a brand story takes a lot more time and resources ($$) than many other forms of marketing. However, once companies catch on to the benefits of brand storytelling, I feel that it will cause saturation the same as anything else.

Brand story telling has become a great way to appeal to your audiences, especially through heartfelt impacts. As the blog mentioned, the “Pioneer Woman” is a great example of story telling as Ree engages her audience through the stories about her ranch life, which impacts the likeable aspect of her show. This is not just a regular cooking show where the cook stands in front of a kitchen and you simply watch her make a meal. She lets you into her world by not only telling you what she is cooking but why and for whom. Usually there is an event going on with her family like her kids birthday party or an event as simple as gathering the cattle but we get to see what it is like living on a ranch and how she teaches her children school material in a different way than any other show depicts.

By building an emotional connection, the audience becomes more drawn to your product or story. A great example was shown on the blog is Volkswagen’s 2012 Star Wars commercial where the little boy is dressed as Darth Vader and throughout the commercial we see the little boy attempting to do things with his “special powers” and nothing seems to work until he tries to turn on his dads car but little does he know that his dad used his remote started. Nonetheless the commercial captures our emotions seeing this little boy so excited that his powers finally worked!

The stories or “mini films” have also been a way that companies have used in order to portray a “slice of life” or “plotted story-lines” to capture the audiences emotions. One of the examples listed as the top 8 was the Dove “Real Beauty Sketches” which definitely proved that women are their own worst critics. This commercial made me emotional because it tapped into the realization of how women critique every little thing about them as something needing “fixing” when other see them as beautiful, as the commercial states “you are more beautiful than you think”. Another example on that list was Google Chromes “Dear Sophie” showing a father writing emails to his daughter since the day she is born. This commercial is absolutely beautiful and emotional; the audience definitely feels the heartfelt impact as this is a great marketing strategy.

I believe this trend of storytelling is a mainstream content strategy because many of today’s marketing are being delivered through this short story format. This is type of marketing strategy that if done correctly it can lead to many positive results. For example, if you take the, “WestJet Christmas Miracle commercial” http://bit.ly/1lkzN8c that tells the story of the night before Christmas of many of WestJet passengers and their incredible surprise they get at the very end. This commercial is quite emotional to watch and people can really relate to the passengers.

Furthermore, as far as WestJet they are showing that their brand promotes taking good care of their customers (meeting their wants/needs). This can benefit the company in many ways, especially since they are engaging with the people both in the commercial and the ones who are or have watched the video too. Caring for customers and satisfying their needs is a way of building trust and gaining loyalty.

Many brands today rely on storytelling to communicate the story of their brands and why they are unique amongst the rest of the competition. It’s crucial that when applying this technique marketers are offering the public just enough information to keep them closer to the brand and not the other way around it. There needs to be a balance, since it will set the main idea for the story being communicated. Like, they say everything in moderation or the audience will stray to other competitors in the market. Ultimately, it’s the marketer’s job to avoid content saturation.

Humans are curious by nature, we love to get to the root cause or what was our experience that lead us to where we are today. Humans like to connect on familiar territory – if you have experienced something similar and I can learn from it – then all the better. As well as we like to be entertained. So, if you can bottle real life experience, benevolence and humor to the remedy, we would likely purchase what you are selling because we have connected.
Look at Marketers today for large brands – they are connect with the human side. Several years ago Publix did a commercial about a mother and son making valentine’s cake for a girl he likes and the one about mothers day – having a mother daughter moment – those are human stories connect with brand recognition. The brand is established, in these stories they are selling you anything just showing you in minutes how life would be with them as part of it. Believing and trusting….that is the brand differencehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHkqGgPpQOE

Currently, I think there is an over saturation of information in the marketplace. With one key word on Google, you can reach 1 billion results in 0.45 seconds. There is information sharing like never before. However, this new trend towards story telling is a very interesting one. There is no doubt in my mind that brand story telling will be positively successful. I say this because it already is. I look down at my feet and glance at my Toms and feel a sense of joy because I felt that through buying Toms I have given back to the community in some way. This is due towards their values and corporate social responsibility. People want a company they can connect with, that has become humanized. When there is a story behind the product, the product stops being a material and becomes a story itself. Brand story telling is a trend that has been constantly increasing over the years, and I don’t think it will slow down anytime soon. It is not just about a logo, but a story that brings that brand to life. The better the story and the more people want to connect, the better the sales.

The trend towards brand story telling as mainstream content strategy will continue to increase. The ease with which consumers are able to access information allows them to know all about a company instantly. Consumers, especially Millennials, want to purchase from organizations who are concerned about society and who have a socially responsible history. This empathizes the importance of brands informing consumers on what they stand for. Millennials do not want to be sold products they want a personal connection. In addition the importance of creating a dialogue through storytelling is important, it allows consumers to share experiences and allows the company to gather information on potential products or existing products. Companies that are able to tell their brand story differently by utilizing shock factors or humor will gain more attention as Millennials embrace differences.

I personally am a strong believer in brand storytelling. With experiencing information overload as a consumer it is crucial that brands find a way to reach the customer and stand out. Simply just trying to sell me a product is not the way to do it either. Consumers want to engage and connect with a brand first, and then they make their purchase decision. Another example of a company on top of the ones mentioned in the blog above that has succeeded in reaching consumers via content marketing is one that not many would expect: Maersk Shipping Line. There are numerous case studies on the brand and how a B2B shipping company used content marketing to increase their consumer market. In todays age with all the new technology phones, applications, etc. if brands don’t get on board and start using storytelling they WILL get left behind in the dust.

This trend towards storytelling as a mainstream content strategy is proving to be a very effective tool in reaching out to the target customers. This is because by choosing to engage the emotions of the targeted viewers, they end up developing a personal relationship with the market. Once this happens, the customers start caring for the product to the point that they take it upon themselves to nurture it so that it becomes bigger. They either do this out of pity, sheer care towards the company’s success and as a mode to project loyalty towards the company. Once a company reaches to this level, it becomes part of people’s daily lives, which are now more easily reachable with the company’s message. This comes out as preferential, as opposed posting and projecting a direct message, a component whose reach is at an all-time low.

It is expected that this generating trend will create a new wave of content saturation, but this is a factor that the involved companies are willing to oversee, as they generate more content for deeper reach into the market. It is because with the wave of content saturation, there came around a completely novel industry: Big Data Storage. Companies have cropped up that allocate huge quantities of cloud storage to companies at significantly reduced costs compared to the nature of data they are hosting and the roles this data is supposed to play towards enhancing market recognition for the company’s existence and reach. This encourages them to enhance their development of content that is unique in its own way, and promises a greater probability of success in becoming either a household companion or top of the mind choice.

Story telling allows for a connection to be created via the narrative before even considering the brand. The issue with this form of marketing is; a poor story will result in minimal connection. In the case of “West Jets Christmas miracle” the emotional hook of the story is so overwhelming you cannot escape the brand. Affinity is created because the story is relevant to the season and all the stresses that normally come with holiday travel. The burden of the travelers is implied so the story really focuses on the positives. The surprise and delight nature of the story is indicative of the holiday season and the belief in holiday miracles. When the story does not resonate with the audience the brand message will be lost. I do not believe all brand stories will have the same attraction as West Jet’s. For this reason there will be a saturation of irrelevant stories and a new wave of content saturation will be created.

So do you buy into this trend towards storytelling as a mainstream content strategy? Or do you think it will only create a new wave of content saturation?

In the past people were constantly bombarded with sales pitches and annoying telemarketing calls, however companies are looking more towards serenading or romanticizing the idea of who they are as a company. I feel people want to be able to trust and have transparency with a company. They want to see what a company is made of as opposed to what they sell. For example, I am a die hard Apple fan. I believe in their products so no matter what they produce, I will most likely purchase it. So telling a story showcases what a company is made of. To me, it romanticizes the idea of the brand. The brand becomes personified and real. It is definitely a strategy to use however it has to be done correctly. The stories have to feel genuine and sincere otherwise it comes off as contrived. I will not purchase from a brand who “fakes” it when I know in my heart, all they want to do is sell something. Although that’s what all companies want to do. But it’s more special when I feel a connection.

I strongly agree with the fact that storytelling will continue to be a mainstream trend in 2014. Storytelling is an extremely effective way of capturing your target markets attention and leave them wanting more. It helps give the brand a “face” that helps its customers relate to the company in a more personalized manner. For example, WestJet’s captured the hearts of many over the Christmas holiday with their Christmas miracle. I grantee you that those customers will never forget the wonderful surprise brought to them by WestJet . By doing this type of storytelling WestJet has created brand loyalty, which will prove to be a plus in the future for them. All in all, I truly believe storytelling will be a mainstream trend that wont be going away any time soon.

So do you buy into this trend towards storytelling as a mainstream content strategy? Or do you think it will only create a new wave of content saturation?
Yes. I do think storytelling is a trend towards a mainstream of content strategy. Unlike traditional advertising which has become a content saturation, companies who tell a story need to be creative and think of ways they are unique in order to catch the customers attention and make it memorable. Although some companies attempt to create this viral and memorable story, many fail at doing so because they have not distinguished exactly who their target market is. When a company does not have a clear vision of who they are reaching out to, then their story can come off as noise and not as something the customer feels they need. In order to prevent from drowning in the wave of content saturation, companies will need to have a full understanding of what catches their viewers attention before producing this storyline.

I strongly believe that Storytelling is the most powerful strategy to connect with people. If marketers apply the right mix of creativity and psychology into creating stories related to their audience, they will successfully cause emotions that will make them feel a connection with the brand.
It is true that it might become part of the noisy world of content, but only if it is not effective enough. A video that tells a story with a meaningful message in five minutes or less, will be shared and spread very quickly to millions of people in a very short amount of time.
The key of this strategy is that people are moved by emotions. Psychology is a powerful science that marketers should integrate into their marketing. People feel first, and think second.
It is important that companies not only focus on selling the tangible benefits of their products, but focus on the experience that they want their customers to take part of.

I personally would say that I buy into the whole trend of story telling as a good strategy. People love stories, male or female. As kids as far back as you should be able to remember your parents or the individuals taking care of you would tell you them. Whether fantasy or fiction a good story is often never forgetting or easily relatable. Which works perfectly as a mainstream content strategy as I stated previously. Consumers want a product or a service from someone that they can trust, If through this method you are able to capture or at least be able to bring them in so they can feel what your trying to convey. Consumer also like to be in the know, more than ever with television news as well as the Internet and social networks, everyone wants to know what’s going on behind the scenes. From that perspective if you give the consumer some of that info they would in turn be bonded and actually acquire some loyalty to your brand. Once the story line isn’t to fabricatedor blown out of proportion I think this is a great way on going about impacting the market. For a quick example, (that isn’t really linked to the topic directly). I feel as though the stop smoking cigarette commercials are to far fetched. I agree 100% that you should quit but, if I was a smoker I just fell like those commercials would just blow directly over my head.

I do believe storytelling is a good strategy for companies to standout from its competition. If consumers have a connection at an emotional level with a brand, they are more likely to unconsciously prefer to buy from that brand. I believe that most people don’t buy just products, we buy brands; a specific product from a brand we already trust and have a bond with will resonate more to us, it doesn’t matter there is a similar product from another brand, if we don’t know much about it or we just don’t feel that spark with it we won’t consider buying it. Storytelling do not only allows the brand to standout from all the content noise that surround us, but it is also a strategy to create that emotional bond that will recall in consumer’s minds when making a purchase decision. For example, in my personal case, I never forget about the Dove Real Beauty Sketches, and even though I do like the quality of Dove products, I do recall those stories and have a connection with the brand. I believe that creating a sentimental bond/connection with customer provides a huge potential of recalling, product preference and loyalty.

I definitely buy into this new up and coming trend towards story telling as a mainstream content strategy. I think storytelling engages the consumer on a personal level and that makes the connection that much stronger. When readying the blog, one statement caught my attention “ can you ever imagine a college textbook you can’t put down” and without any hesitation my answer was a big NO. The reason for that is because textbooks are lacking that factor that connects with the audience on a personal level and engages them in a way they can’t put the book down. While some textbooks can make a connection because you can relate to the situation presented, they lack the storytelling factor that takes it one step further. If more textbooks would buy into this trend maybe it would resonate better with the audience.

Additionally, the factor in storytelling that I think is so great and makes me “buy into” this trend is that it connects with the audience emotionally. Emotional connections are made in several ways but my favorites are heartfelt moments, performance, and sentimental humor. Those characteristics are the ones that catch my attention most and connect me emotionally with the content.

Lastly, the ability of storytelling to add a narrative that creates involvement and inspiration is another extremely powerful way that it makes an emotional connection with the audience. For example, the Dove Real beauty and the Google Chrome Dear Sophie commercial make such a strong emotional connection with me through their inspirational story telling that it brought tears to my eyes. As a woman, I can relate to the Dove beauty commercial but I am not yet a parent and Google really did a great job in creating that emotional connection with me, even if I am not yet a parent because it made me think of the day when I do have kids. Precisely for that reason, I buy into the trend towards using storytelling as a mainstream content strategy.

I’m positive about the trend towards storytelling as a mainstream content strategy. People get involved, related and inspired on other people’s experiences and triumph. The same way, human being is curious by nature, we love to learn whats behind the scenes and how things are done and how did it happen. Those are intrinsic characteristics of humans, and because of it I beleive brand story telling will not only be a wave of content saturation, if well done, brands can talk to people on their same language, humanizing their institutional image to have consumers relate and generate feeling for the story therefore gain trust, and brand recognition organically. Of course, its our job as marketers to not overwhelm consumers and dig deep to present a realistic story rather then many superficial or too branded oriented and forget the humanistic motivation of it.

I agree with the trend towards storytelling as a mainstream content strategy. People get involved with the emotions of the story and its easier and more entertaining for them to read about a storytelling. I don’t this that this concept will be something that will disappear over the years or even become not attractive. People feel identify, attract and more interest reading stories like the “once upon a time”. We also need to mention that not all the audience will be interested in this type of contents, because there is a type of audience more conservative and straight to the point. It’s our job to create stories and contents that keep people interested to read more, and at the same time they have to be straight to the point for them not to get boring. We need to find the perfect balance between a story content avoiding the saturation for our audience.

I do buy into the storytelling trend as a means to provide content. This marketing strategy if done right can yield great results, however if the storytelling loses its selling point or gets off target it is possible that it will create a situation where the audience will experience information overload and tune out the story and this could not be further from the expected results. As marketers, we expect to communicate the story of our brand that will create an affinity with our audience and drive them closer to the brand not away from it. Finding the happy medium where we communicate just enough information to the audience is imperative because this will set the foundation for the story to be communicated. As they say, content is king but content overload can mean death and once the story is dead, it’s all over.

There is a saying that everybody has a story, the same goes for companies, brands, and products. I believe consumers enjoy learning about the story to the brand they are to. “Once upon a time” stories have proved to be successful based on the book by Goldratt, as this type of marketing tactic allows the reader to relate to the storyline. Using something that connects to one’s emotions can trigger a positive response allowing consumers to want to buy. Building an emotional connection can also help build loyalty between the brand and the consumer. This type of marketing strategy is a bit mainstream because it can be safe. However, this strategy can also over saturate the content and take away from actual product. At the same time, creating a story that prolongs over time allows the viewer to stay alert and always interested in the brand.

I strongly feel that storytelling will continue to be a mainstream trend that will continue for some time. Storytelling is a great way to convey your brand and make connections with consumers. When you pull on your consumers heartstrings, you create a connection that is difficult to forget. When it comes time to make a decision to purchase your band vs your competitors, consumers tend to gravitate towards those brands that they feel they have a connection with. Storytelling has been a tried and proven technique for marketers and I do not foresee it going away any time soon.

So do you buy into this trend towards storytelling as a mainstream content strategy? Or do you think it will only create a new wave of content saturation?

I absolutely believe that storytelling is an effective method for brands to capture the audience’s attention in a different way, where there is an emotional connection and consumers are not left to feel as though they are being bombarded with promotional messaging. Storytelling paints a picture of a brand and personifies it in a way where consumers are able to relate to the brand and form a connection that may in turn result in them becoming brand loyal consumers.

Two brands that come to mind, that successfully utilize story telling content strategies are Publix and Google. Publix is famous for their tear jerker, heartfelt campaigns. Appropriately, their Mother’s Day spot shows a pregnant mother and her young daughter in the kitchen preparing a meal together. The audience is sucked into the storyline of the mother telling her daughter that she should tell the new baby a secret. The end of the spot, the daughter whispers to her mother’s belly that she’s really going to love mom. The audience the entire time is captivated by the endearing story, and it isn’t apparent until the end of the spot that this is a Publix commercial. The premise of the campaign is love and family, and enjoying each other on Mother’s day, with Publix the brand at the back seat. With this strategy the audience is able to connect with Publix as a respectable brand that is founded on great values. Having the audience emotionally connected positively benefits Publix’s position in the minds of consumers.

Google also has had a variety of successful storytelling campaigns. One spot that resonated well with me was the spot called “Reunion” where a granddaughter helped her grandfather locate an old friend in India that he had been separated from many, many years ago through the use of a few Google searches. The entire spot was very heartfelt and the audience was captivated the entire time as we anxiously anticipated the reunion. The campaign was effective by showcasing the benefits of Google’s technology; however, positioned in a way where the audience was drawn into a deeper message/story.

These two examples show how this storytelling approach is an effective means to paint a positive picture of the brand all while captivating an active audience of potential consumers.

Yes, I absolutely buy into the trend of storytelling as a mainstream content strategy. I am all about a good story. Storytelling allows the viewer to connect with the company on a more personal level using their emotions. The viewer is able to learn about the company, hear about the struggles they faced and also their successful moments. My favorite kind of storytelling is when a company explains how they became who they are and how they got there. These storytelling strategies can help motivate others to fulfill their goals or dreams thus leaving the viewer with a positive memory of the brand. I do think eventually the market will become over saturated. I think it will keep companies on their toes with creating the best and most effective story lines that can hold the viewers attention long enough to get the message.

In my opinion the storytelling trend is a mainstream context category. Storytelling is a good marketing strategy. Companies are able to build relationships through storytelling. I also agree that a lot of companies are taking the storytelling approach because I’m seeing it a lot in commercials lately. Some of the commercials leave you wanting more while some of the others touch your heart. My two favorite examples from the blog are “WestJet’s Christmas Miracle” and “Dove Real Beauty Sketches”. I’ve seen both of the videos prior to the blog and they both truly touched my heart. That being said, I believe that the “storytelling” content strategy will continue to grow in popularity.

Storytelling is most certainly going to continue as a mainstream content strategy. Consumers enjoy stories behind brands and products, and they feed into the idea of aligning with the brand and forming a sense of familiarity. Furthermore, consumers enjoy learning more about a brand and stories that can give them a good feeling about purchasing certain products.

Anything that appeals to the senses will draw in consumers. In reference to slice-of-life, these type of commercials and advertisements (especially the heartfelt ones) are going viral all over social media every day. Consumers like the stories and I do not think that this form of content is going anywhere for a long time. It will continue to grow.

I do believe that this trend towards storytelling as a mainstream content strategy is effective in many ways. It has allowed brands to personalize their brands and connect with their consumers in a different and more efficient way. Being in the world of social media, I think that every brand has a story to tell. Whether it is a product, service, or person, adding an emotional connection to your audience can help create those long lasting relationships that brands seek to find in their consumers. Having a story keeps interests alive and gives the brand a reason to sell the product or service they do. I believe that a content strategy can be effective if the brand story is used as a guide when curating content. It can also help when a brand has a personality, a way to put a face to the name. Consumers who see content that is associated with a brand will remember that content and associate it with your brand next time they see it. Curating content can be a daunting task especially if a brand is unclear what their story and message is. I think that storytelling is here to say and it has proven effective for many brands. For example, Red Bull started out as an energy drink and has managed to transform their brand into an inspiring and engaging powerhouse with their brand story. Their slogan is “Red Bull Gives You Wings.” This message is carried out through all of their marketing and partnerships. They partner with extreme sports sending their brand message though sponsoring these amazing athletes. Storytelling can definitely be an effective way of communicating and resonating properly with your target audience.

So do you buy into this trend towards storytelling as a mainstream content strategy? Or do you think it will only create a new wave of content saturation?
I buy into the trend of storytelling as a content strategy. Storytelling makes any product or service more personal and customers like when they can relate to something. For a company to successfully build a connection, they must know what story to tell, how to deliver the message, and what audience they are willing to reach in order to effectively gain attraction. By offering episodic content the company can also make it so the customer base looks forward to what is coming up next. I believe this type of indirect advertisement where brands tell instead of sale will continue to grow and be adopted by more companies. In my opinion, there is going to be a huge increase in storytelling in many companies worldwide.

The first story that comes to mind is Lego’s Ninjago. Lego, a once troubled company, began telling it’s own story in order to captivate audiences, get them involved, humanize Legos, in a way that was felt, experienced, entertaining and remembered. The Ninjago story was so engaging that I purchased every Ninjago set Lego came out with, for my children of course. No, actually, Lego, in their storytelling found a way to capture my attention. In fact, Lego also was successful in capturing audiences thru their Hero Factory, another major success in our house. Lego didn’t attempt to sell the set, they instead sold the story behind each set so that when you purchased a set you had an emotion, or an experience to associate it with.

Recently, Lego released their first full length movie and it was a hit all across the globe. Why? Because Lego found a way to tell a GREAT story! Yes, my family spent $135 on going to see the Lego movie in 3-D (it wasn’t the plan, but it was the only one showing at the time we went). I say all this to answer the question as to whether I buy into the trend towards storytelling as a mainstream marketing content strategy. My obvious answer is YES. I do believe that experiencing a brand thru storytelling will get audiences involved with the brand. As well, I am certain that as a consumer, I am tired of being sold to and would like a brand to sell to me by telling me their story in such a way that I can see, from their perspective, how their products and/or services can add value to my life. It’s no secret that we all enjoy storytelling as a form of entertainment, just look at the movies and reality television shows of recent years.

The down side to any new marketing strategy is that is does tend to become super saturated as more marketers use the method. Thus, it is important that marketers tell not only a heartfelt story, but a true and relevant story to build trust in their message. This will inevitably separate them from their competitor’s. At the same time, marketers would do well, to consider other means of separating themselves from the competition using other content strategies. I think the word of the century is INNOVATION and content strategy is subject to constant innovation like everything else.

In summary, I am saying yes to both questions. Yes, I do believe that the trend towards storytelling is effective. As well, I also believe that it will create a wave of new content saturation. Thus, continuous innovation is key to effective marketing, even in social media.

Storytelling is definitely a trend that will continue in mainstream. We live in a era where consumers want interaction from brands. Companies that combine the importance of the bottom line with the commitment to engage consumers tend to see better results. Right now companies are seeking new ways to reach consumers and by striking an emotional chord the consumer feels a connection beyond spending money. Personally, I can say I support companies that support similar causes and organizations that I support and it is a trend that will continue to grow. With that said, like other strategies it will become saturated as competition picks up and buys in to this trend. Will it be short-lived? While I do believe it will eventually become saturated I think it will happen at a slow pace. Keeping content fresh will be key, but like business in general there re copycats and the use of this technique will be no different.

It seems most likely that the trend toward storytelling will continue to grow as a mainstream content strategy. Storytelling, handled appropriately, is a very powerful tool that has been proven to engage audiences. However, to be effective in marketing the content can’t be just any ole story to any ole audience; it can’t be just a one way selling tool. The storytelling content must be engaging and unique, contain useful information, and be entertaining. It must offer some value to listeners as well as be emotionally compelling and moving, otherwise it won’t be effective. Consider the content strategy used by TV soap operas to gain and keep their watchers. These shows utilized endless told sagas, which captivated viewers with moving stories about everyday things which happen in ordinary people’s daily lives. Because they were so down to earth, audiences could effectively relate to the frequent and emotionally moving storylines. Notably, viewers could hardly wait to tune in again to see what happens next. Most of these afternoon shows ran for decades, showing just how effective storytelling can be as a resource engagement tool.

In highly competitive environments rival companies tend to follow the leader in marketing and many other strategies. Thus storytelling as a marketing tool may create a wave of content saturation but assuredly not to the point where storytelling will go away as a marketing tool. After all storytelling has been around for centuries and who doesn’t like to hear and be engaged in a good compelling, moving story? But nevertheless storytellers need to keep focused on appropriate content to remain effective in keeping an audience’s attention and stirring interest in a brand.

The idea of storytelling is a great way for a brand to get a message out that they wouldn’t normally have the ability to do in a typical television or radio spot. This strategy is a good one especially for building brand credibility and can be considered valuable. Seeing the brand working in an heartfelt way will humanize it and encourage brand loyalty. However, as far as seeing it become mainstream marketing content I would disagree. Although, the stories are absolutely inspiring and moving they are long as far as duration and the attention span of most viewers is short.

So do you buy into this trend towards storytelling as a mainstream content strategy? Or do you think it will only create a new wave of content saturation?

Storytelling is a great way to attract users and is a great content strategy. I, myself, enjoy storytelling from companies. If the information is true, it allows a consumer to understand what the company has come from to what they are now. It could also help the consumer understand the company’s beliefs, morals, and values. This is very important as it relates to all of the noise on the internet and media competition. The article mentioned emotional connectivity, a means of drawing consumers in to their world. If emotions are provoked through storytelling, I think it is great; I feel the internet has broken many barriers of humility and humanity anyway. Emotion may be well needed for our society; we are lacking sensitivity and emotion for people and things. Although I think storytelling is a great form of content marketing, I do believe it will become saturated and manipulative. I believe the truth will begin to get watered down and eventually non-existent.

So do you buy into this trend towards storytelling as a mainstream content strategy? Or do you think it will only create a new wave of content saturation?

I believe that storytelling is the start of something big all over again, as I believe many companies do it already, but there are many who are unaware of it. I buy into it as a mainstream content strategy. Many brands can use storytelling as their way to engage their customers and clients emotionally. By doing this, a customer can become more loyal to the brand. Using this form as a way of marketing allows customers to relate to the brand. One way of doing the storytelling is through the use of testimonials from existing customers. Allows potential customers to hear from current customers allows everyone to see how good the product is, and can back up many reviews. Storytelling can also help build a brand by backing up their quality. For example, when the auto industry took a hit in 2008, many of the automakers came out with stories that took their brands back in time, and showed the first models of many cars, and how that same brand has changed over time, but the quality has not. In doing this, customers become very comfortable and you start to see an increase in sales, new customers, and higher retention rates.

This is interesting considering that our company VP of Group Marketing and Sales recently returned from a conference and made mention that he wanted to start telling stories about our products and services. The key word to focus on is a trend. Like every other platform of marketing, it all starts as a trend until there is enough saturation and then it all just becomes noise, until the next trending marketing technique surfaces.

There is so much noise in marketing, and audiences are drawn to marketing efforts that stand out. There are reasons we read books, and I believe the primary one is to escape our lifestyles and live vicariously through something else; to better engage and connect with emotions, emotions that we may not get to experience or share on a normal basis. Storytelling offers that same opportunity. As the article states, storytelling offers humanizing content and captures attention by pulling in the audience like any novel. We have the opportunity to live through another character or we feel emotionally relieved when we read of someone sharing the same experiences as ourselves.

Storytelling and heartfelt impacts as a strategy makes sense as relationship marketing is about engaging the customer to keep them returning, building loyalty and retention. Sometimes straight forward advertising either tries to convey too much too fast or just gets lost in the noise, and embedding pieces of information about a company’s products and services into multiple stories will help the audience learn about the company in a captivating way. However, the content must also be in moderation as too long of stories may deter audiences as well. Eventually, storytelling may become saturated as more and more companies adopt this strategy, and when audiences start to feel that they have to read a story everywhere they turn, storytelling will lose its strength.

So do you buy into this trend towards storytelling as a mainstream content strategy?
I absolutely by into this strategy. I have noticed event the brands that I work with such as Bacardi and Grey Goose have embraced more of a storytelling platform. Bacardi, for example, has launched a new campaign called, “Untameable”. It captures the trials and tribulations that Bacardi went through to become a brand through revolutions, earthquakes and even bankruptcy. I have gotten emails from numerous friends mentioning how great it is that Bacardi is tying their rum to their story. I feel stories like this humanize the brand. It is understood that Bacardi is the best-selling brand in the world and stories like this help highlight their humble beginnings.

Or do you think it will only create a new wave of content saturation?
I do not feel like it will create a new wave of content saturation, I feel like this will be the new way of presenting brands. Who does not love to hear a good story that may resonate with them. The esssence of some brands is their story. Would the show company TOMs be as successful if they did not tie in all the good they do in this world? I would say no.

When trying to attract readers, you have to have something that sets you apart from the competition. This actually pertains to every competitive industry not just blogging, you have to create attractive piece that gets readers engaged and interested in finding out more. This is when storytelling comes into play in the marketing world. I believe that storytelling is one of the best ways to get consumers interested mainly because it is at the base at every human being. Before the internet, cellphones, books, etc. the only way to convey information was through word of mouth. Storytelling creates a message to consumers making them want to get more, leaves them in suspense so to speak. This method is successful in marketing strategies, just like the Pioneer Woman’s story, because readers that share similar feelings/lifestyles want to know how someone like them was able to escape it, giving them a sense of relief and security.

Storytelling has the power to draw sympathy from consumers, and by drawing on the sympathy of consumers, companies have a better chance being “recalled” when consumers are searching for a particular product. Although “once upon a time” type of content may lack the qualities to “hook” onto an audience’s pain points, we must consider that the human experience of overcoming trials is very similar even amongst different social groups. The brand message, even one that starts off with “once upon a time,” must exploit universal human emotions that any audience member can associate with. However, the “once upon a time” may border on “sell pitch,” which is why brand story telling strategies such as “Dear Sophie” work so well and have the potential for viral dissemination because the “sell pitch,” or “sale speak” are essentially undermined by the heartfelt emotions the video elicits in the viewer.
Just as social media marketing, blogging, and other modes to reach audiences on a more personal level, as more companies jump on the “brand storytelling” wagon, this form of “hidden advertisement” may eventually become a prerequisite for all brands, thus creating triggering a new wave of content saturation.
As “brand storytelling” is adopted by companies in all fields, it’ll still be up to the quality of the storytelling that will determine which “brand stories” and therefore which brands manage to stand out amidst the clutter of this new type of content.

I think like all things that are good, storytelling should be done in proper moderation. Part of the reason storytelling made a splash was because it was not so common and when you found it, it was good. Now everyone wants to tell a story. I can’t begin to tell you how tire I am of all these reality shows that came about from someone having an “interesting” story. At first I was exciting to see some make it to the big screen because of their “story” but now it overkill. Marketer should be strategic and wise about how, when and where they pull out the “storytelling card”.

I think Storytelling is a very good tool for mainstream marketing, I think it draws the consumer in because it will most likely be something that someone can relate to or have an emotional connection to. Storytelling, brings the reader closer to the storyteller. By identifying himself to the story, the reader is more likely to understand the message. This is one of the reasons stories and heroes are used in management and leadership theories as motivational tools. I think to avoid the story telling tool becoming saturated information it has to come off authentic , people won’t just buy into any product it has to be appealing and want them to come back for more.

Desmer Michel says: April 22, 2014 at 10:52 am Yes it is really interesting .Storytelling helps readers understand better the mainstream content strategy. In fact, the content sponsored by brands shaped a high performance success of these native advertisements. The concept of storytelling captures the vision of advertisers and it also help them remember and appreciate what they heard. It’s given the vision and establishes a tremendous effect on the audience mind. I feel like the content strategy is trying to eventually create a new wave into content saturation. This marketing strategy makes our audience feel more comfortable to adapt with content storytelling. Unfortunately, it makes people more attractive to the brain they offer. This strategy automatically makes one to remember the advertisement and want to pass it to another like word of the mouth. It is very interesting and applicable.

I appreciate the story telling approach because it usually conveys a message of why the company (family, person etc) does what they do. Publix, for example, has sold a brand story that they strive to provide first class service, the highest quality products at reasonable prices. They convey their company values in nice, heart warming commercials showing families reuniting. It is easy to picture yourself in the story being weaved.

The blog world, youtube world and twitterland have all become very saturated. The impact of these mediums can be limiting because the content is so extensive that sometimes, it is like looking for a needle in a haystack. With the amount of saturation in the social media, it will be more and more difficult for new individuals or companies. Realistically, the amount of time that individuals have to spend reading blogs or viewing video content is limited.

To move forward in successful manner, companies will have to find ways to engage people in a quicker method. The methods that will likely bring more attention will be the short stories that build on themselves – somewhat like telling a long story over many smaller segments.

1. I think that storytelling as a mainstream marketing strategy is good for various reasons. It is able to captivate the viewer and give them and emotional attachment to what is going on. The story telling of the brand will give a purpose and personality to each of the company’s and will even give the consumer an idea that the company wants to do more than just make money. Overall, I think that it will be beneficial for the image of a company and for the attention it will receive as a marketing plan.
2. This trend of storytelling could potentially create a new wave of content saturation simply because if it is a trend many others will begin to do it. Also, eventually it seems as though if one thing is working, many others will jump the “bandwagon” and join in. When too much of this is going it will eventually become saturated on networks.

I do buy into the storytelling trend as a mainstream content strategy. I believe it is an effective way to attract your audience. I have seen several storytelling ads and they have grabbed my attention, even if not something i need or want to purchase i still end up watching them. A lot of people like to hear stories, so i believe turning that into an ad would be a successful way to market. I also don’t believe the storytelling commercial will make me buy the product, yes it will grab my attention but it doesn’t play a role in my decision. I believe it is a very effective way in marketing. On the other hand most marketing strategies get over played and than people stop watching them, too much of something is never good. If the commercials are not over done i can see this being a great way to grab someones attention, show new trends, & market.

I believe that I do personal buy into the trend towards storytelling as a mainstream content marketing strategy. I feel that if a company has a good story as to why they are better than their competition, then I can choose them over their competition. Not only does it build sentiment towards the company and their intentions, but it makes me aware as a consumer that the product I’m purchasing is helping both me and a certain cause. A good background story for a business is a great way to go marketing wise. I don’t believe that this creates a new wave of content saturation; it just builds better content for different companies in the world. It opens marketing into a bigger variety for companies to choose from to build a name for themselves and produce great products for their consumers. I have actually personal read through and researched more behind the stories of one of the examples. I did a paper on the background story of Chipotle and how it has persuaded me and other to invest in their company as consumers. They claim to serve delicious healthy foods and their background story helps pursue me with their positive marketing.

Storytelling, the new trend in mainstream content marketing strategy has found a solid place in marketing to consumers. The reason why this approach is successful is the fact that they are entertaining and can generally get an emotional connection from the viewer. This “soft sell” approach allows the viewer to identify with the story and possibly create a need for the product through this engagement. This form of marketing has been around for many years and as with all trends will probably lose its popularity as it becomes so prevalent and the public becomes numb to this approach.

I, however don’t feel this will create a viable wave of content saturation as the public eventually tires of things that will become disingenuous. Marketing over the years has come and gone in waves. Approaches that are working today, will find themselves shelved until a time when it reappears.

I have read reports that state that future generations will be less patient and have a different definition of family, time and what is important to them. This means that the sales pitch would have to get straight to the point and appeal to the generation that it is trying to attract.

For now they have a place in our fragmented society where everyone wants what they see others enjoying.

I buy into the trend of storytelling as a mainstream content marketing tool. People like relatable things. Storytelling is a way to tell a story of a person that used a product to solve something that relates to what the viewer may have. For example, I see this a lot with acne commercials. They have someone saying that they used to have acne all over and was made fun of growing up due to the acne, until a certain product helped solve the problem and changed their life. This is a story the company is using to market their product. People with that problem will relate to those that told their story and most likely want to buy that same product. Storytelling gives a meaning for the company/product in the eyes of most viewers and also kind of hides the fact that the company is trying to sell you something. I believe storytelling will be shown more in the future and through many formats of advertising. I believe we will not only see these stories in blogs, eBook, and webinars, but also commercials and other mainstream advertising formats.

I believe people have a better chance of becoming emotionally attached to a brand if the marketing supplying the commercial shows how the brand started and how it became so popular. Storytelling helps consumers get closer to the brand because they can know the possibly humble origins of the company/brand and thus have some positive connotations with the brand as well. Positive connotations will convince consumers to buy more of the brand’s products. When companies explain their humble origins it compels people to listen to them and ultimately care more for the brand .

1. Do you buy into the trend towards storytelling as a mainstream content marketing strategy? Yes, I believe that storytelling is an effective way of marketing; however it must be done correctly. With storytelling, marketers are able to connect to the consumer more on a personal and emotional level to try and draw them in. I’ve see these commercials and marketing strategies before, they were nothing I drew interest in, however I continued to watch just because of the way they marketed the product. By introducing a storyline to an audience, if the consumer is drawn in, they connect with the product and eventually live their life through the brand.
2. Or do you think it will only create a new wave of content? I can see this going either way. Depending on the amount of time, and the amount of money a company spends these marketing ideas could be very effective. They need to keep the content new, and on the consumer’s toes. As we know nothing is going to be perfect, but keeping a good storyline will create the saturation that is forthcoming. The “Once Upon a Time” approach could be effective, but over time could become saturated; thus explaining that they storyteller needs to always keep their consumer grasped on

I’m not sure if this is a new trend – I seem to recall many past commercials which reinforce a company/product brand image with historical references or storytelling. This creates or reinforces a brand image of trust and reliability. For example, many (I would say most) bank and financial service companies do this, so do car companies (Ford, General Motors), Food (Quaker Oats Cereal), Retail (Sears), even technology (Apple and the recent Microsoft commercial I seen with Native Advertising). I can recall commercials from each of these companies which reinforced their brand image through storytelling about their early beginnings. For established companies I believe this type of advertising will continue. It’s an effective marketing tool because it resonates with a individuals values and visual storytelling has a longer lasting impact than just a regular commercial stating facts. People can already identify with the brand/product and easily visualize a company’s vision. Many of these storytelling companies tap into the nostalgia consumers may already have with the product (Car companies do this effectively by referencing their early popular models).
I’m not sure if there will be a new wave of content saturation with blogs etc.. Marketers want to establish brand recognition and to be effective at storytelling you must have already established some reliability, trust and positive brand image along the way. I believe companies that already have a brand image do not need blogs,etc to maintain reliability and trust with the consumer.

I have seen the storytelling ads and have found them effective so far. Even if I didn’t have a want or need for whatever the product or service being pitched, I was typically left with a positive perception of whatever it was–mostly because it struck an emotional chord and elicited a reaction. If it catches my attention, it’s more likely I’ll get sucked into the narrative of the story itself. The product/service itself usually becomes an afterthought.

So, do I buy into the trend? Yes, I do, to some extent. I find it an effective way to engage with the audience. On the other hand, I don’t know how effective it would be at making me buy the product/service. I do think that in general, most people can be swayed by appealing to their emotions, but when it comes time to buy the product/service, that storytelling commercial plays no factor in my decision.

Also, if the public begins to see these types of ads consistently, I think they will begin to lose their effect. The saturation factor would seem to create a sort of ‘story-telling ad fatigue’ in the long-term. Too much of something usually makes it less appealing. I imagine can imagine seeing these types of ads frequently and saying, “Oh, it’s another one of THOSE commercials. Meh.”

I definitely buy into the trend towards storytelling as a mainstream content marketing strategy at least a little bit because I feel many companies have successfully employed this strategy in front of my eyes. A good example would be that in my opinion the best beer is Dos Equis, and most of you have probably seen the commercial that shows a story behind the sophisticated beer brand. This is an effective method!
I also think the new content will create a wave of saturation, however it will still be effective to market in this way.

I buy into the trend of storytelling as a mainstream content marketing strategy. America is the land of opportunity and many people buy into stories which make them think and in which they can relate to. People are always wanting to read and inquire about things in which not only open their senses, but also their hearts. Among many stories which involve success or in a product which has a good marketing strategy, people will be sold on the product and eventually end up buying into it due to the storytelling element which was used to market it.
While this may be a good marketing strategy, it may be the start of a new trend due to the increasing use of technology when marketing a product. Since the start of the 21st century, technology has been a big factor on the success of marketing and product sales. While storytelling helps build a solid clientele, new evolving trends will eventually start a new trend in which products will be marketed. Social media is beginning to be used more frequently by people and while word of mouth has always been the best form of marketing, blogs, eBooks and web marketing are eventually going to be the way in which marketing will be used more often. Technology advancement was the key to opening doors to the future, and it is the factor which will forever change marketing.

I have mixed feelings about this blog post because I can look at this brand of marketing from a personal point of view and a objective point of view. Firstly, I am enjoyed the post and was very interested to read about this marketing strategy because it is very distinct from a lot of marketing noise I see on media today. Brand story telling is a very interesting approach for reaching out to consumers and I agree that one of the reasons many consumers respond very well is because they feel emotionally stirred by the message. I personally enjoy this very much and often stop what I’m doing to see where the story goes. Yet, I feel this marketing has positives and negatives; one of the positives is that it ends up being very memorable — usually you tell someone about it: “Oh there’s that commercial with the dog, pause the DVR and look at this, John, it’s so sad.” I also think it helps you connect more with a company because you identify with the ideals or mission of that company and may find yourself buying there product because you ‘support’ them.

The negatives are that they are lengthier and may be more costly to produce and many times even though a consumer may enjoy the story, they may not remember the brand at all. Just the story. I recall a commercial that fits very well into this category; it was lengthy, about 7 minutes long, and involved a deaf man whose daughter was embarrassed of him and eventually tries to commit suicide. I adore the commercial because it makes me tear up and have showed it to other people, but for the life of me, I can’t remember the insurance company who produced it. So, storytelling may overshadow the brand.

I believe story telling brand marketing will have it’s peak and fall for several reasons. Too many stories out there may begin to wear at the patience of the watcher. After so many repeated attempts to be emotionally stirred a person may jut become desensitized to it. Video game gore really shocked me the first time I saw it, years ago, but now there’s so much violence out there I don’t react even when a person in the game explodes. I feel this marketing will follow the same path. It’s likely it will just be a fad, but at this point in time, I very much enjoy it.

I am personally a sucker for a good story, and I totally buy into the trend of using storytelling as a mainstream marketing strategy. I think a picture is definitely worth a thousand words, and I love the “Told not Sold” aspect of Brand storytelling. I think the viewers can grab on better and feel like they can visualize the value better with the story. This method gives an opportunity for artists to portray an image, and I find it a refreshing break in the monotony of boring banners and men yelling out their message like used car salesman. I think we have the capability to pull off wonderful, visually stunning advertisements. Another great thing about these would be the ability to aim the content at the younger audiences and keep their attention.

Yes it is really interesting .Storytelling helps readers understand better the mainstream content strategy. In fact, the content sponsored by brands shaped a high performance success of these native advertisements. The concept of storytelling captures the vision of advertisers and it also help them remember and appreciate what they heard. It’s given the vision and establishes a tremendous effect on the audience mind. I feel like the content strategy is trying to eventually create a new wave into content saturation. This marketing strategy makes our audience feel more comfortable to adapt with content storytelling. Unfortunately, it makes people more attractive to the brain they offer. This strategy automatically makes one to remember the advertisement and want to pass it to another like word of the mouth. It is very interesting and applicable.

I believe storytelling is a great way for someone to relate to the product and have belief in the product. They can relate the story to themselves or a situation in their life. The advertisement can pull at emotional ties or intriguing interests that the consumer has. It is also important for long-term success for companies because the product will ‘grow-up’ with the consumer and the stories will stay in their minds. If a company has a storytelling approach for their advertising, I would be more responsive to that than other forms of advertisement. The only downside is the increase in blogs and eBooks. In my experience, I never showed interest in these forms of marketing strategy. I believe the best way to show these storytelling advertisements are strictly for commercials and visual ads in magazines or billboards. Having it incorporated in the average life of a consumer has more significance than a blog or eBook that they have to take the effort to look at. I believe it should be flawlessly incorporated in the daily life of average consumers and become part of their own story. When the product subconsciously becomes part of their daily routine it becomes more reliable and trustworthy.

I definitely buy into the trend towards storytelling as a mainstream content strategy. I think a company having an emotional connection to the consumer is the best way for them to make the consumer feel as though they are more apart of the company. Not only this, but I personally will remember an advertisement that involves more emotions before I remember one that does not, because emotions humanize the companies that sell us these products. Most of the time, when we think of them, we imagine CEOs in tailored suits that simply want to make money off of us (which is true), but with advertisements that appeal to our emotions we begin to think of them as companies that are patriot, caring, and even hilarious.

I believe this trend is appealing to consumers and will help companies increase revenue if done right. Consumers are tired of seeing the same old commercials. When a company tells a story, especially their story or the story of a satisfied customer they appear more human and consumers can feel as if they “know” the brand better. However, if a business only uses this type of content strategy they will soon wear out the consumer and it will just become content saturation. This type of content is memorable and when designed to leave consumers “tuned in” for the next commercial the brand value certainly increases. I’ve often heard people talking about commercials to one another and oftentimes this content strategy allows consumers to remember the company, not just the commercial.

I definitely do buy into the trend towards storytelling as a mainstream content strategy. To me, building an emotional connection is an important part of an advertisement. I get more from an advertisement that provokes emotion. This can be done through involving the audience and created shared memories or situations. I do, however, feel like there is a fine line between connecting with an audience and taking it too far. I feel like if advertisements try too hard to connect with the audience it will eventually create a new wave of content saturation. Marketers need to change it up sometimes.

I do buy into this trend towards storytelling as a mainstream content strategy. Storytelling, brings the reader closer to the storyteller. By identifying himself to the story, the reader is more likely to understand the message. This is one of the reasons stories and heroes are used in management and leadership theories as motivational tools. When the reader can identify himself to some characteristics depicted in the story, the reader might feel empathy and understanding for the story, which will create an emotional connection. This marketing technique makes the audience feel safer, as they do not necessarily feel they are being sold something directly.
However, I do believe this will create content saturation, customers do not like when marketing techniques are obvious, while this may work for some time, the audience might not reach this emotional attachment of this marketing technique is too widely used. Customers will only be “naïve” for so long.

I, personally, think that storytelling is a great way to reach your customer base. I loved the example used earlier in the blog asking, “Can you ever imagine a college textbook that you could not put down?” Quite honestly, I could not. I think that telling a story through an advertisement can make people experience all kinds of emotions, for example: encouragement from heartfelt moments to inspire customer base, making some content that may not be too interesting intriguing to the customer base, or explaining how to handle situations through storytelling to make it much more imaginable for the customer base.

I can completely agree with this post. The only way for a consumer to truly engage with a product is to have some type of emotional connection to it. For instance, the Chipotle story is probably one that a lot of people are familiar with. As seen in their commercial, they produce every day a fresh quality product and do so without any chemicals or preservatives. The scarecrow commercial resonates with people because there is a huge trend now of eating organically and consuming all-natural, no preservatives foods (the Paleo diet for example). So since the new saying is “we are what we eat,” people will now be more likely to consume Chipotle products because they make that claim. So for a brand to incorporate storytelling is important to their long-term success.

I think the trend towards storytelling is mainstream content strategy. Its help the audience become inspired and more understanding to the content strategy. Some of the best ads have some kind of a story to tell. Its building that relationship between the customer and the product that the companies have to offer them. It also means that audiences are viewing media and ads in a variety of ways on a variety of different devices, and those brands are finding success by creating content specifically for these channels. A lot of companies have focused on creating video content that is based on narratives instead of on just good old fashion advertisements. So Do I think storytelling is becoming a mainstream content strategy? I would have to say yes to that. A great story keeps you connected to that brand and company.

Brand story telling is something that I can personally relate to because of the effect it had on me three years ago. Since I am a track athlete, I follow the fastest people in the world and I closely look at what they wear when their running. One day, I was watching TV and a short segment of Usain Bolt came on telling about his life story of becoming the fastest man in the world. All during that segment, he had on Puma gear that looked very stylish. Ever since that day, if it is not Puma track spikes, I do not wear them. Just by that inspiring brand story segment, it has me addicted to the brand of Puma. This strategy used by many companies creates customer loyalty, which allows them to unite and appreciate the brand.

Yes I buy into the trend of storytelling being a mainstream content strategy. Reasons why, is because it is realistic, personalize, and makes their audience have hope. One of the Brand Storytelling example mentioned in this section was Ree falling in love with a country guy.
Ree’s Storytelling helps women and men to think outside the box looking for romance in their lives. Sometimes men and women look for a potential mate in the same place, same ethnic group, same culture, and keep getting the same bad results. I’m not saying that it is not possible or something is wrong with that, but there are millions of people in the world who a man or woman can fall in love with if you think outside the box. Ree went out of her normal way of living, and enjoyed the new life style and different kind of mate from usual. This is a realistic situation because almost everyone is looking for a man or woman to fall in love with. It is personal because that man is someone who she plans to spend the rest her life with. Lastly, it gives people hope because a lot of single men and women think that they may never find that one person who they can truly fall in love with. So this trend will definitely create strong customer relationships with any business.

I believe that brand storytelling can be a mainstream content strategy because people want to hear about overcoming adversity. Storytelling helps inspire people to strive for more and accomplish their goals. An inspirational uses a hero as an example that people use as role models such as Martin Luther King Jr. Storytelling could also be used for an emotional connection with the audiences which causes people to feel sorrow and sympathy. The emotional connection causes the audience to be more attentive and think about being in that type of situation.

Storytelling is a brilliant strategy. Storytelling is the biggest asset to creating a strong customer relationship. Some of the best and most memorable ads are storytellers. For example, Dove’s beauty sketch instantly went viral. People that saw the commercial made an instant connection to the story. It was not until the end that you actually find out it is a story by Dove. Storytelling creates a stronger impact than a regular thirty second advertisement. I definitely buy into the trend towards mainstream content strategy. Millions of people value an emotional connection and feel personal connections to storytellers. In fact, storytelling is how people used to record history. As technology evolved, storytellers were able to make their stories into books. They could record history and create fictional stories. Many people grew up hearing nursery rhymes and stories. When they grow older, storytelling will still make an impact whether it is through novels, movies or even these brand storytelling ads.

Yes, I do believe that storytelling is effective and that it is a good way to market a specific product. A lot of customers enjoy knowing the history and background of companies to know exactly what they are buying and where it came from. Telling the story of a company can make customers have kind of a relationship with the company. People like knowing things and knowing how a company started and slowly evolved is a great way of marketing and creating long lasting relationships with customers. Storytelling can create emotions, relationships, and other positive feelings between a business and audience or customers.

Yes, I believe storytelling is a smart and interactive strategic priory. I think it is a big part of customer and bran relationship. In building customer relationship it is important that storytelling is transparent and honest. By telling truthful and heartfelt stories about the brand, product or industry, you can find a lot of relativity and emotional connection to the consumers and eventually build a relationship with the brand. I consume a lot myself, and I am often more likely to be inspired by other content producers who share their personal stories instead of just selling to me. It offers readers and me a retable human perspective that help them better understand and connect with their brand.

As for my favorite way of storytelling I have to say is through video, you can also use photos to tell your story, but tell your story through video touches your heart in a whole other level. As for the strategic part of using videos to tell your story, you can take advantage of the popularity of social videos sharing sites like vine and YouTube. Not only are they cost effective, but you are also able to connect with people where they are already engaged.

Brand storytelling does an astonishing job at engaging certain types of viewers. Just like with everything else I do not think storytelling will work for everyone. The example of how professors are teaching the theory of constraints using Eliyahu Goldratt’s book/movie titled “The Goal” hit close to home for me. I have learned about that theory several times and did not completely understand the concept until Eliyahu Goldratt made a story out of it; however, I probably would not have read the book or watched the movie if it was not a requirement for the course. Similarly, every time I eat at Chipolte I receive a flyer regarding their online program but I have never actually typed the address in my browser and viewed it. Storytelling brings the audiences to a relatable position but getting the audiences interested in viewing might be a challenge. Humor, happiness, and sadness are all extremely powerful and when people feel an emotional attachment to a story this can definitely help the business!

I do believe in story telling as a mainstream content strategy. Companies have been doing this for a while and I think it is a very good idea. For the most part any person is emotion driven and that type of thing will always get to them, making them purchase whatever it is the ad was about. If these companies can manage to create a bond with viewers, their potential of marketing will reach new levels. For example, Optimum nutrition made a new pre workout supplement commercial and it starts with an athlete always being prepared and how he gets to the gym before the owner of them gym opens up and it motivates the viewer with all the motivational things the do and say. I’m very into working out and things like that pushed me to buy whatever the commercial was selling. Another example would be Juan Valdez Colombian coffee. They have commercials and it shows how the coffee bean is used and how it passes all the processes and what people have to do to make it the coffee that everyone loves. That creates a special emotional bond with the viewer and definitely helps in the ling run. I do not think that it will create a new wave of content saturation. This strategy will help the consumers interested in the brand and will help them be loyal to it if done right.

Yes, I do buy into the whole trend of storytelling as a mainstream content marketing strategy. America and soon the world to follow, loves a good story. They love the rags to riches story, the Cinderella stories, the stories that make you feel. Stories that make you feel good at that. Now days with all the heartlessness and brutal crimes that go on people are looking for genuine-ness. Something that can make them feel that “there is hope,” and when marketers use this method they will have a high success rate every time. Although I do feel that this method of storytelling works, marketers should be leery in thinking that Americans will buy into just anything. Americans want a face, a product, something they feel that they can trust. This method might create a new wave of content saturation, but if marketers are using some form of authenticity they will not have to worry about using something that has “already been done.” There will always be that one thing that will set the product apart from the others. Using storytelling as a mainstream of content marketing this year will prove to work in the odds of every marketer who begins to use it. Towards the end of the year there may be some level of content saturation, but as I said before that is only if the marketers don’t keep a level of authenticity to their story.

I really enjoy watching brand story telling because it is exactly like a mini movie. The brand is able to pull in its audience through their emotions and really get an attachment. With storytelling it really captures my attention and I get into the story of the brand. For example, the chipotle commercial really makes me think about what I am eating and that story of the farm makes sense. This is how our industry has changed; this is how our food has changed. The story then changes and goes “back to the start” of how farming should be (without chemicals and machines). It really gets you thinking and also gives Chipotle a good imagine in the fact that they are promoting how their company uses these natural ways in their products. Other commercials can make me really emotional and even tear up if they are extremely sentimental like the dear Sophie commercial.
Brand storytelling however does have its issues in the fact that sometimes brands take it too far. It is completely plausible that brands will create a new wave of content saturation because of this “story telling”. I think it will be the difference in whether or not the story backs up what the brand is about. The story also has to ask the question does it serve a purpose in what you are trying to sell to your customers? If the story in the commercial has nothing to do with the product you are representing, then it is not beneficial.

I do believe that brand storytelling clearly falls as a marketing strategy that aims to connect with the potential customers at a personal and deeper level. As a customer, I do not buy into the content of these advertisement options. This being because even though the manner in which the product is presented may be comforting or humanizing, it is still (usually) not presenting me with something I find to be essential to my life. As stated in the article, “humanizing and personalizing content also creates an emotional attachment as audiences credit our empathy as being oriented to their personal needs. Having an authentic voice, in a context that involves our audiences, is a great start towards connecting at an emotional level.” However, I believe that at the end of the day, the commercial or advertisement was made simply with the purpose of obtaining customers and clients, not something that shows “humanizing,” or heartfelt intentions.
Additionally, I believe that for now, this strategy is not necessarily seen as content saturation. It is truly hard nowadays to come up with an advertisement idea or set up that will be 100% original. But if brand storytelling continues to increase in popularity, I believe it is possible that it may reach content saturation. I believe it can be a very good strategy for various occasions. However, it may reach a point in which the use of it was so much that no original ideals may be seen or that its effects will not be as successful.
Maria Sicco

I think the brand story telling is only going to get bigger and also in some ways better through 2014. As mentioned in the text; brands want to create a relationship with their customer. This is hard to do, even though it is possible, in a short amount of time as in a regular commercial. Brands have the opportunity to really appeal to their audience and create a bond with whomever they are reaching out to. It is also easier to include factors as entertainment and humor in a story or a longer commercial like this.

There will always be some kind of content saturation, but I do not think it will generate more than it already is. People will keep getting inspired or motivated by others and others work. If anything I would think the content saturation decreases with storytelling. It is easier to show how a brand is unique or special in more amounts of time.

I do believe that storytelling has definitely become a mainstream content marketing strategy. Audiences are searching for an emotional connection among the millions of advertisements that are out there. More and more, companies are beginning to realize the importance of this emotional connection in order to better sell products. Developing a plot, characters, and visual imagery allows for a customer to relate and remember a product that appears to be applicable to real life and that develops within real life scenarios. It can be seen from the examples provided in the blog and from other companies as well that the new form of advertisement has begun to involve this type of marketing.
The issue with this content marketing strategy becoming mainstream is that it will indeed create a new wave of content saturation. Once a technique is discovered to be effective, its popularity leads to a decrease in its effectiveness. Audiences will be bored with the over-used, over-dramatized storylines and attempt at making personable connections. This in turn leads to the search for a new method that will once again spark consumers’ interests and desire to buy new products. It is a vicious cycle that unfortunately must continue as each new strategy is found and ruined.

Storytelling in the mainstream market can be effective. I think its a good way to market a product. Consumers like things that have substance and depth behind them. It can give insight as to how the company is run, and what their story is. It can give the public an image of what certain corporations are actually like, instead of making them seem like sort of entity out of reach of humans. It appealing to people to see something develop before them, and storytelling marketing is a good way to do so. Storytelling can appeal to emotion as well, so if you can capture your audience with something heart warming or compelling, then your product will be better received. Overall I dont think this would saturate the market. I think it will force companies to enhance their advertisements, and make them evolve into something more.

Thanks to online content marketing, business owners are now able to reach many more people in a much more efficient manner. Along with using content marketing to attract the attention of potential customers, content must also be able to move people in order to be truly effective. One way to accomplish this is by telling stories. Compelling stories entertain, inform and offer value to your customers which makes them more likely to engage with your brand.
I think that Storytelling should not be used solely as a selling tool. It should be used as a medium to build strong relationships with your clients and customers and to transform them into strong loyal advocates of your brand. I consume a lot of content myself, and I am often more likely to be inspired by other content producers who share their personal story instead of just selling to me. Stories offer your readers relatable human perspectives that help them better connect with your brand.

The beauty of telling your client’s story is that when potential clients read your content, they learn from your client’s unique story. You also build on the relationship you have with your client and increase the possibility of working with them in the future.

With out a doubt I buy into the trend towards storytelling as a marketing strategy. I will never forget the first time I heard the story about sportswear maker, Columbia and where they came from. I was in my high school economics class when we were reading a case study on it and I thought to myself wow this company has really been through it all. Then when it was discussed in one of my classes at NSU it made me want to buy the product more. My family had already been using Columbia products for years because they suited what we needed for fishing and outdoor sports, but hearing that story made me justify only using their products when I could. I think this story needs to be told more often and especially now when people are struggling to keep their businesses going. It not only enhances their product identity but gives consumers hope that their businesses can have a turn around. The company uses the CEO Gert Boyle (the old lady who never gave up) in some of their ads and people wonder who she is so they look her up. Once they find out the story they are hooked. Personally I love hearing a good heartfelt story about someone beating the odds and making it as a successful person, so storytelling is always a way to draw me into a product.

I think that story telling is a great marketing strategy. We all have dreams, characters that we look up to and aspire to be. By taking advantage of this common aspiration and providing the opportunity to be like the main character in a story, companies will be able to capture the interest and passion of more consumers, and have that interest and passion be connected with the brand. Having this advantage of a deeper connection with customers, companies will be able to maintain a loyal and dependable customer base, allowing for financial security and company growth.
The main concept of story telling is to convey a message and capture an audience, so it only makes sense that marketers take advantage of this strategy in order to showcase their brand and capture the attention of the marketplace.

Brand story telling is effective in that it can cater to many people. At the same time however, I think it can be fairly off putting to other potential customers. This type of marketing play on a person’s imagination, so it can be hard to gauge whether an individual would like it or not. I personally think that many of these types of marketing strategies can be a hit or miss; some type of story telling marketing can at times be too cheesy for me to find the appeal. Branded marketing in a TV show or movie can be decent in my opinion. Many people do not mind this type of marketing, as long as it does not keep popping up on a constant basis in one particular show or movie, or as long it is not too obvious that the movie or tv show has a branded item in it. Subtly marketing an item to me is the best way to go in branded marketing. Overall I dont think there is a bit of saturation of content that contains this type of marketing. Personally i dont see much of this type of marketing to think it is content saturating.

Hello everyone,
After putting into perspective whether or not I would buy into the trend towards storytelling as a mainstream content marketing strategy, I believe it is. When you look at the different marketing strategies that exists you put into perspective what would the audience want? Sure watching a funny, seductive, quirky commercial grabs the attention of many but essentially I think the way towards the public is understanding them. I think that Ree has so many followers is because people can relate to what she says and likes what she says. The best way of getting into peoples attention is by reaching their hearts. I believe this strategy is excellent and brilliant because some people need storytelling to convince them into products they should buy. I think that Ree did a great job by sharing with her followers. I do not believe that this strategy will create a new wave of content saturation because some companies should be intimate and show another perspective towards the customers. Companies should prove its not about making the sales its about helping the people and storytelling marketing does this. I believe that most companies in America forget this and need to be reminded its about the people.

I’m not really sure if I buy into it personally but I can understand the success the concept of storytelling has seen. I do often however find myself watching these types of storytelling videos for companies on youtube. Ever since I enrolled in this course, I have become extremely aware of how things are being marketed around me. In fact, I can’t watch a commercial without analyzing it to some extent. Because of this, I try to not let marketing be the deciding factor in what I buy or want but rather need and effectiveness. I will say that this marketing strategy has been successful with me in the past especially with products I have no brand loyalty to. If I don’t know which brand I want I will often buy one that I have “heard” of. That one of course is usually one whose advertisement has stuck with me. I definitely think at its concept it was a great idea and as other companies are choosing to utilize this strategy as well, it is definitely working. Eventually it will become over saturated but I don’t think people will really get tired of it. It gives people something to connect and identify with and that is honestly what draws people to brands.

I do happen to buy into the trend toward storytelling as a mainstream content marketing strategy. People want to know where there favorite companies have come from and the goal the set when they first came upon the problem. Even in the case of small businesses and seeing them gradually get larger and deal with more customers, it is the journey that people are interested in. By having storytelling as a content marketing strategy it not only allows for consumers not to just see your company as a large company just looking to make money however they can, but as a vision that is fulfilled with their business. A background story gives insight, and by using it as a marketing strategy your business will continue to increase. This is especially evident with commercials that feature heartfelt moments, astonishment and sentimental humor. If people can relate to your vision and they like your product, they will continue to buy from your company, and ultimately that is the goal.

The trend towards brand storytelling as a mainstream content marketing strategy is truly a capturing marketing technique which has proven successful outcomes for various companies such as Subways, Weight Watchers, and Jenny Craige, Inc to name a few. These companies have utilized the brand storytelling by providing real-life scenarios and testimonials which is what establishes a connection with audiences and prospective customers because it provokes feelings and emotions by providing awareness. In addition, brand storytelling represents the focus and service of a company because the story line that is linked to the brand/product can have numerous scenarios and distinctive concentrations. For example, the three companies mentioned above have similar stories that focus on weight management and healthy eating, therefore, the company’s concentration, services, and products are clearly presented by the storytelling marketing technique. Therefore, I do buy into this trend of brand storytelling because it is highly effective in connecting with audiences and the focus of the company is commonly well presented and understood through the storytelling explanation. Lastly, I do not think that this method of marketing will “only” create a new content saturation because it is different compared to other forms of marketing techniques that mainly focus on humor. However, if there are businesses who are seeking an effective marketing technique, I do agree that they will resort to this type of marketing because it includes a deeper sense of understanding consumer’s values and needs/wants as well as the company’s focus on providing customer satisfaction.

I do buy into the trend towards storytelling as a mainstreem content marketing strategy. I buy into it for all the reasons stated above, mainly the issue of connecting with the viewer. Creating a story that people can connect with leads to the consumer being more interested in the product. This makes it a fantastic marketing strategy. The whole idea behind storytelling as a marketing strategy is creating an image that people want. With the example of the pioneer women; stressed out, tired, working women fantasize about living a life as that depicted through Ree’s blog. It has become so popular because of how desirable her situation is. The simplicity of country life is a tantelizing idea women are obsessed with. From childhood girls hear stories about prince charming. Ree is blogging about him, and now women are reading tales of the fantasy life. I do worry about it creating a new wave of content saturation. With the rise of content marketing more and more strories like Ree’s will become popular. Her story is so successful right now because it is on the cusp of this marketing strategy. She capitalized when the idea was still fresh. As time goes on this storytelling will become more and more popular and the stories will be less sincere. This will lead to content saturation. Nevertheless I still believe that storytelling is an effective form of mainstream content marketing.

Story telling is a very great way to attract new viewers as well as keep the same viewers you have always had interested. I believe story telling allows for commercials and mainstream media to become personal. Story telling allows viewers to become emotionally involved in what they are watching because stories of others are always easily relate able to oneself. Allowing the viewers to become involved in mainstream media keeps them attracted. I believe story telling plants the seed in the public’s mind, therefor allowing them to remember the company or product when they see it in a store. I believe story telling is in fact mainstream content strategy. I also believe with the easy ability to grab viewers’ attention with storytelling it also holds their attention for a longer period of time, because yet again they become emotionally involved. Storytelling allows old memories to be brought up again and become present, people love to go back in time and remember not only great moments in their lives but even sometimes heart wrenching moments. Storytelling is what allows people to feel and connect. Storytelling allows the consumer to connect to the brand in a strong way and ultimately I believe storytelling to be extremely successful and I do not think this strategy is going away anytime soon.

Storytelling is a great way to grab some one’s attention. The art of storytelling was mastered and passed down from generation to generation making consumers more prone to listen to content marketing when it seems to be some type of exciting ending. As far as marketing, the art of storytelling has been mastered by businesses and used in mainstream content strategy. This has become a trend because the marketer can now take the consumer out of their everyday lives and place them in any new and exciting world they can create. The better the story the more the listener can find and imagine themselves in that memory. In addition, storytelling also appeals to the listeners sensory nerves allowing the listener to be able to see, taste, feel, smell or hear the message that is being conveyed.

I think story telling is a mainstream content strategy but it is also a great way to get consumers attention. Once we relate to the story chances are we will be more interested in the ad. For example, Coca Cola ads almost always have a nostalgic feel to it. It can take the customer to a feeling they had as a child but it can also relate to their own children.
Airline companies also like to use this method because they can get their customers to relate to the plot on the ad. For example, during the holidays they can use a young adult surprising their mom for Thanksgiving after telling her that he would not be able to spend the holiday with her. As long as the customer feels an emotional connection with the product it has already gained their attention. The can include a heartfelt moment, astonishment, sentimental humor, putdowns, performances, or concept imagery, whichever must connect the product to the consumer.

I think that storytelling could both be a mainstream for content strategy as well as create a new wave of content saturation. However, I think that is mostly mainstream content strategy. When people read, its either to inform, educate or entertain. When storytelling is involve it allows one to be more entertained, thus being able to hold someone’s attention longer. This strategy automatically makes one remember the content and want to pass along the information. Storytelling can allow one to escape their surroundings for a few minutes and allow the person to engulf themselves in another world. The example of the lady that married a cowboy is a prime example that allows many wives to live vicariously through her life, even though they may never experience a day or life like that. Storytelling, is a great strategy because it entertains and can lead to many more stories that will make the reader want to stay around to read what’s next.

I feel storytelling is so successful in marketing content because of how engrained it is in humans. Before documentation, data filing, and the doey decimal system, most of mankind’s information was passed down through word-of-mouth, which is essentially storytelling… Storytelling is the connection we make to deliver memories through the form of words. The better the storytelling, the better the listener can picture themselves in that memory, which is why it’s such a powerful marketing tool, because it allows the listener (consumer) to be in that memory (product).

I believe storytelling is a great mainstream content strategy. Personally, one of the critical factors which will convince me to buy a product is if I can associate to that brand in some way. The product may not even be that great or be so well-known; but if they tell a story which gets me engaged, makes me believe it, and most importantly, triggers my emotions, that brand has most likely gained a new client.
It can’t just be about repetition and saturating the brand into customer’s heads. We have all seen that this strategy has not worked anymore for a long time. Companies need to start remembering that we are human beings and we are driven by connections, shared experiences, and emotions; and not just a robotic mega consumer.

I definitely buy into the trend of brand storytelling as a mainstream content strategy. This seems to be one of the only ways to engage consumers enough to actually pay attention to an ad and absorb the content. People of all cultures, demographics, ethnicities, and social statuses are driven by their emotions. If there is an emotional connection at some point to a brand it is mentally retrievable when that emotion is evoked which is what marketers want. In recent years, a number of colleges and universities have used brand storytelling using emotional content to boost enrollment. Schools such as Everest, Devry and the University of Phoenix have featured students and their families telling the “story” of how a student turned their life around for the positive by pursuing an eduction at their institution. Those individuals that are “touched” by the message in the commercial will definitely keep that content close at heart and recall it whenever they are emotionally provoked. With regards to over saturation of content, all content is subject to over saturation if a consumer becomes disinterested or the content isn’t relayed in a manner that connects them to the brands’ story. However, emotions will always rule in drawing people in and will hopefully help brands begin to build trust again with consumers.

Brand storytelling is a great opportunity for businesses to connect with customers on many levels. I buy into the concept, juxtapose the idea that this form of content marketing will aid to the saturation of content and influx of uninvited marketing. Quite the opposite as storytelling personalizes while seamlessly creating a loyal customer/fan base. One successful company that comes to mind is the fast food giant, Subway. The story behind Subway illustrates the success of band storytelling. An overweight average man wanted to lose weight and decided he would eat healthy and by introducing the subway’s motto of eating fresh and healthy while on the go… the rest was history. Needless, to say people made a mental connection between Jared, the Subway guy, and eating to lose weight. Subway’s method was to use an emotional appeal to create recall and drive the message that you can have fast food and still maintain a healthy diet. An authentic connection was made when people bought into the idea that if the Subway guy could lose weight they could too! Storytelling can be used inspire, inform, and entertain which if used effectively, can seal the deal or purchase at the bottom of the marketing funnel.

I fully support the trend towards storytelling as a mainstream content strategy. Storytelling provides content in an entertaining way that has sentimental humor, heartfelt moments, put downs that are effective in engaging the audience. Once the audience is engaged, the content is personalized and this creates emotional connection to the audience through telling a story rather than selling a product. This makes the products likeable since they relate to what the audiences face in life.
I don’t think that storytelling as a mainstream content strategy will create a new wave of content saturation any time soon. Many brands are employing this marketing strategy to face off competition, emotional connections are dynamic. People need to be preparing to embrace different strategies that will create lasting emotional connections. It is therefore clear for me that this strategy is not going to lead to content saturation.

I buy into the trend towards storytelling as a mainstream content strategy. Storytelling adds a personal touch to a businesses product or service. The chances are higher to receive a customer’s attention when they can relate themselves to something. If companies want to make an impact they have to attract the customers and prospects attention and spur them to action. The company must tell a great brand story. Anything else will just be additional noise and clutter that discourages people from wanting to learn more about a company and its offerings, and ultimately becomes another unwanted obstacle in the buying process. However, in order for storytelling to be successful, companies must make sure what’s important to their customers. This can be done by conducting traditional customer research, using analytics, or monitoring the chatter on social media. This can often lead to creating different versions of the same story, each tailored to a particular need, or interest. Because is the storytelling is not meaningful it will not have any impact on consumers.

Storytelling is in our genes. Since the days of the cave dwellers, man has been a story teller. It is undoubtedly the most effective way to relate an idea to another person, hooking them with emotional highs and lows by taking them on a journey with you, bringing them into the “story.” I feel, as far as a content strategy, that storytelling is the only strategy that will keep your customers engaged for the long haul. By sharing the brand in the form of stories, companies are become humanized and vulnerable and this provides deep connections and attachments for the customers.

Whether or not this trend to tell stories saturates the lines of communication is yet to be seen. Within time as more and more people jump on this strategy for content creation, there will be a moment when NOT telling a story gets you noticed simply because it is different.

Current day, I buy into the trend of storytelling as a mainstream content strategy. It reminds me of the simpler times as a kid when stories were told to me. In that sense; as mainstream media taps into that peacefully childhood place they are becoming like a trusted parent or relative that I allow into my subconscious. In doing so, I absorb their product pitch and may be prone to buy or pay more attention to the product or item that is being hooked. As more and more company being to indulge in the practice of storytelling it will undoubtedly lead to content saturation over time as more media platforms throw their hat into the arena.

I believe it will lead to content saturation but it will seat itself among the norms. It isn’t new by any terms and it will become more saturated overtime. At the moment we have advertising that has found its way into episodic content. In no time we will see an entire television series based on a market brand. I’d venture to say a full length feature film. It’s dependent on how the market continues to grow and the level of investment customers will have in a product. Do I buy into this trend? Absolutely not. I don’t need to invest into a product any further than my dollar needs to carry me. No jingle, narrative, or concept narrative will be enough for me to get invested. Emotional connection leads to impulse buying, then trend riding, it’s like an odd cyclical spending habit generator. I think I will pass. You can sell me on a free sample.

I believe storytelling as a mainstream content strategy is a benefit for companies. Communication has changed over the years with the growth in social media marketing. Companies can no longer rely on the traditional mediums like print, radio, and television to win over consumers. Consumers are key players in this social revolution that has changed the way people communicate with each other and companies. So with storytelling, companies will benefit because it allows them to produce content with natural power to engage in a loyal audience. Stories help people understand the world. Stories have been the way people made sense of the world for years now. Plus it is human nature for people to tell stories about vacation, child or children, work, school, and etc. Storytelling is no longer a business connecting with a consumer but actually people connecting with people.

I do buy into the trend towards storytelling as a mainstream content strategy because it allows consumers to connect with the brand. Storytelling allows companies to be different. It is an effective tool that conveys a message that a company is trying to get through to their audience. Rather than just getting customers to buy your product or service with boring advertisements, storytelling gives companies that opportunity to really show people who they are and let them connect with their audience on an emotional level. For a company, it creates brand recognition and customer identification. If done right, storytelling can create customer loyalty because they feel as if they are part of the company’s story. When you share things that are personal, consumers tend to care more and show a sense of interest. Being able to share the history of a company and show how they have developed into what they are lets customers see what they have been through. It will show how much a company really cares about their customers and the effort they put into their products/services, which will make customers more appreciative.

Storytelling is a crucial way for companies to connect to the audience on an emotional level. With the abundance of advertisements that are overwhelming the minds of consumers, companies must find a way to differentiate themselves. Through storytelling, companies are able to build a bond with the audience and ultimately gear them towards their products and services. It can be done in such a way as to provoke a subconscious want through pain points that the story being told arouses. Companies including Chipotle, WestJet, and Nikon are currently utilizing this method to create “heartfelt impacts.” More and more companies will join as they realize it is an effective way to connect to and influence their target customers. The trend of storytelling as a mainstream content strategy is not just a new wave of content saturation. It is a tactic that will continue long into the future in order to build and establish customer relationships and brand loyalty.

In my opinion storytelling is very important. I think storytelling will remain a mainstream content strategy. I am very emotional person. So if you can make me cry it will impact me. Having a connection with the audience will make the customer remember the brand. The main goal of storytelling is to make the audience interested from the beginning to the end. I really don’t like to watch commercial but when I do watch them I like the ones that are funny. For example, the commercial with the talking stain is something that my friends and I are still taking about. Like I said before storytelling is very important because it captives the audience. I don’t think storytelling will ever get old.

I am a computer animator, so for me storytelling is a must to engage an audience. I believe that brand storytelling will become a standard in marketing. Storytelling of any kind is a basic and easy way to engage your audience, to make them emote and care for your product or brand. It is a hook to attract and retain their attention. The way to grab their attention is to make them relate to your brand, make them feel like you understand their needs and wants, and consequently your product or service can fulfill that gap, that need or want that the audience has. If brand storytelling is done successfully, your audience will automatically will be expecting more of the story, more details and progress in the storyline and will connect deeper with the brand, to the point were the brand becomes a no brainer; it will become the answer to their needs and/or wants.

While I understand how storytelling can be considered a new wave of content saturation, I do believe that the trend of storytelling will remain a mainstream content strategy. I do not foresee the development of storytelling to become an “information overload,” as storytelling will migrate more to images and info-graphics rather than superfluous text-based stories. As stated in this blog, stories have a much better chance of conveying meaning to an audience’s own pain points than simply selling your products or screaming your brand. Brands are slowly beginning to research the options open to them through the Internet and social media. As discussed, 90% of the world’s data ever produced was created in the last two years. Brands are just beginning to understand the best route to reaching their customers in a technologically driven economy, which further solidifies the notion that the storytelling trend will remain constant, and potentially increase as social media usage continues to grow.

Definitely storytelling is a content strategy that is here to stay. Everything if not explored the right way can become a wave of content saturation, but, one thing is for sure, the consumer is tired of the traditional advertisement; being told what, when and how to buy a product. The brand engagement is much higher when the company strives for HEARTFELT content. Storytelling seems to be a successful way to achieve that brand recognition and personal identification. Being able to play with the image of the company/product and develop a more profound link with the customer engaging the audience through a unique approach. It shows that more and more companies are adopting storytelling in their marketing campaigns and the fact that it can always be further explored the clients want to know what is going to happen in the next chapter of the story.

Story telling is an effective way to capture customer’s attention in this internet content-saturated environment. The strategy appeals to emotions with the hope put on customer self-identification with the message. I believe this type of indirect advertisement where brands tell instead of sale will continue to grow and be adopted by more companies. However, the internet world is constantly evolving and reinventing itself, as a consequence the same happens with internet marketing strategies. Now companies are trying to differentiate from competition through innovative marketing strategies such as storytelling. But if the strategy becomes mainstream, and I believe it will due to current acceptance and success, it will start losing credibility, people will get tired of it and marketers will have to once again come up with new strategies to retain the so volatile customer attention.

The trend of storytelling may actually become the norm. If it is the norm consumers will seek out these stories that will personally resonate with them. The key, however, is having stories that are true to core values of the brand. Trust and faith in brands is at an all time low…it’s no secret. The use of storytelling can actually bridge that trust gap.
Use of storytelling can create brand resonance also.
The concept of Keller’s Brand Equity Model basically states, in order to build a strong brand, you must shape how customers think and feel about your product. The right type of experiences must be built around the brand. It’s essential for consumers have positive thoughts, beliefs, feelings, and perceptions about brands they trust. Storytelling could potentially be a building block of brand equity. Saturation isn’t an issue for brands that stand out from the crowd!

I think that there are great benefits from brands using storytelling to help stand out from the noise and build a loyal customer base. Building an emotional connection between the consumer and the brand helps the company in many ways. By offering episodic content the company can also make it so the customer base looks forward to what is coming up next. If done correctly, storytelling enables the brand message to be recalled and remembered more than competitors. I don’t think this trend will lead to content saturation if brands are using storytelling in the right ways. They need to understand their particular brand and develop story lines and formats that fit with everything they represent. It will be interesting the see the impact of all of the different types of storytelling being used by various companies recently. I have seen this trend used more lately and have to say that these messages do stand out from the standard advertising campaigns that users have become accustomed to.

I believe narrating a story with a truthful and heartfelt message will effectively impact the customer’s choice because in order to gain a persons attention you must tap into an emotion. For a company to successfully build a connection, they must know what story to tell, how to deliver the message, and what audience they are willing to reach in order to effectively gain attraction. This content strategy towards mainstream storytelling will work if done correctly. People love to make connections that hold value and not connections that lead towards the end of a dirt road. Having a creditable story of your brand from customers internal and external builds trust with your audience especially if they are able to share how the brand benefited them a particular way then it did for someone else. I do not find this strategy to be a new wave of content saturation because the storytelling will hold value with the audience and the message will be clear as to what the brand is doing to benefit the customer.

I believe delivering a story to any given consumer, as part of a blogger or any companies marketing strategy is an efficient and effective way to deliver personalized content to the customer. I personally believe in this particular trend of storytelling as part of content strategy as it des not create content saturation. People normally buy into ads when their emotions are touched in some way. Given that we are emotion driven, if a company can effectively impact their consumers feelings a powerful message can be delivered to them. One of the main reasons I buy into this trend is due to the fact that storytelling also allows its consumers to see a side of the company that is more “intimate”. This gives the consumer a sense of trust. An example of this is when a company reaches a big anniversary date. When this happens they normally tell some type of story of how the company began and its early roots. Consumers like this as it can let them have a view of the company and what they’ve done to get to where they at today.

So do you buy into this trend towards storytelling as a mainstream content strategy? Or do you think it will only create a new wave of content saturation?

I love storytelling and I do buy into the trend of it becoming a mainstream content strategy, on the other hand, I do believe eventually a wave of content saturation will follow. Storytelling as a medium for delivering a brands history, beliefs, missions, products and services is innovative and brilliant! By personalizing themselves through humanized, entertaining, heart felt story-telling, brands are now really connecting with consumers on a much higher emotional level than ever before. However, more and more brands will join this new “Once Upon A Time” approach to content strategy, and as we’ve seen before with other internet and social networking trends, will soon become over done and over saturated!

I do buy into the trend toward storytelling as a mainstream content marketing strategy, however I am also a bit skeptical. Yes, I agree that it is a great and powerful way to present the company’s beliefs and intentions, and also to show what they do in order to satisfy the customer. People will probably pay more attention to stories that are presented as true stories and that will make them like the company more than others. However, how do we know that every shown detail in those stories is true? Or that some important facts are not being shown? Or that some untrue facts are mixed in with some true facts so it seems reliable? However, as of today, I am certain that brand storytelling is going to increase immensely because most customers believe what they see and believe in the honesty of the companies. I personally am really careful with those commercials. I do catch myself being excited for a company that tells its story with heartfelt moments incorporated, but at the end I always tell myself that a company’s goal is to sell and that I cannot be one hundred percent sure that what I have just seen is a hundred percent true.

In most cases, the strategy used by the marketer to market an offering has a bearing on the buying behaviour of the customer. Storytelling as a mainstream content strategy is very important towards influencing customer disposition to an offering. Through the use of this strategy, the customer tends to discover new information about the product. For instance, he is made aware of the benefits and other features that he might not be aware of with regards to the product. Therefore, with storytelling, the customer is exposed to new information they may not be aware of. The internet is very effective in carrying out this exercise. One other advantage of this strategy is that it is captivating and it appeals to the interests of the targeted consumers. The marketer is also in a position to tailor the message in the desired way so that it can have a positive impact on the targeted consumers. Basically, the strategy of storytelling helps to increase a market share for the company.

I buy into the trend of storytelling as a content strategy and do not believe it creates a wave of content saturation. Delivering a story as part of a blogger or a marketing strategy for a company is an effective way to personalize with your customer. People are driven by emotions and if you can effectively impact their feelings you can delivery a powerful message. As an example, the company I work for, Citrix, just passed their 25 year anniversary. They are marketing their story over the past 25 years to the customer. They talk about their vision to virtualize the application that change the distributed PC model. In this marketing initiative they talk about how the market didn’t think it was possible, especially from a small tech company (at the time). They then went into and talked about how their focus on employees also led to their success. I believe it was a powerful story that will personally relate to some of our customers how to overcome challenges.

I buy into this trend towards storytelling as a mainstream content strategy. Storytelling makes any product or service more personal and customers like when they can relate to something. The strategy of storytelling keeps peoples interest if done right and makes customers follow along, which means they become loyal to the company and then in some way the customers want to be a part of the story which makes them buy the product the company is advertising in the first place. Another reason I buy into this trend is simply because storytelling allows consumers to see a different more personal side to the company advertising. Which can make buying that product less intimidating. A car for example, if there was a nice sweet commercial showing a family going to buy a car and the people at the dealer are so nice and the process seems so easy, then the consumer may not be so intimidated to walk into that particular dealership.

I buy into the trend toward storytelling as a mainstream content marketing strategy. This is a great way to educate consumers about their company, including their beliefs and products. This usually gives meaning to the purpose as to why they do what they do. Consumers like this because they feel a sense of genuine effort and passion being put into these companies and their products. I do not think that this approach will create a new wave of content saturation. Instead, I believe it will create a positive wave of inspiration to other companies to show their true stories and passion about what they do. Storytelling really allows a company to grab consumers’ attention through heartfelt moments and other marketing techniques discussed throughout the blog entry. Out of all of these though, heartfelt moments is the one that touches the hearts of consumers. These stories not only bring in new customers, but create LOYAL customers that will keep coming back. I believe that customers want to see the meaning behind the company’s work. When they see this story and their inspiration behind their company, it attracts customers and makes them feel like this company is more reliable. In my opinion, there is going to be a huge increase in storytelling in many companies worldwide. If companies want a more personal connection with their customers, then they need to share some personal aspects as well – like storytelling!